Jaime Harker and the Cultist's Curse
by Citizen-X
Summary: Jaime Harker is a sixteen year runaway. He came across a little girl named Allison, before making it to Camp Half-Blood. There he meets the assortment of characters near and dear to many of our hearts. Soon, Jaime will have to deal with monsters from his past with the help of some friends, and this time not all monsters are greek.
1. Chapter 1: Looking for a Goode Blofis

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or any associated properties/characters.**

Chapter One: Looking for a Goode Blofis

"Find… Blofis… at... Goode… School."

Those were the last words of one of the only friends I have ever had, before he turned into a sapling anyways. His name was Glenn, and he was half goat.

Now, I'm sure you've either read or listened to the great escapades of Perseus Jackson. This is not a continuation of his tales. This is my story. This is the story of Jaime Harker, and his best buds.

Seeing as hopefully all of you are aware of Jackson's story, I should give you a frame of context. This takes place three and a half years after everyone's big battle with the Gaea and the Giants. Alright I should probably get back to the story now.

We had been trailed by those crazy spirit things for weeks, as we tried to make our way from Lincoln, Nebraska to wherever that camp was. Glenn, my best friend who was also a satyr, was taking watch while I told bedtime stories to the youngest member of our little three person group.

I guess I forgot to mention Allison. She is the sweetest six year old girl you will ever meet. She was the person that Glenn originally was sent to get. She ran away from her home, after her uncle had "forgotten" to feed her for a week. Glenn swooped her up, while she was still in her hometown, and was taking her to some sort of camp on the east coast when they ran into me in the middle of Wyoming.

Anyways, some guys had come down the alley we were staying in, while I was distracted. At first we didn't do anything. I thought they were just some druggies who were going to smoke some pot or something like that. I couldn't have been more wrong.

One of them called out in a raspy voice, that sounded as if two people were speaking out simultaneously "Move aside goat, we desire only the godlings."

Glenn looked back at us, and then to the things possessing these guys. He didn't say a word, but pulled out the wooden flute he kept holstered at his hip. He played what sounded like Don't Fear the Reaper, by The Blue Oyster Cult, as vegetation sprouted out of a nearby dumpster.

I took the opportunity, I grabbed Allison, and ran past the torrent of muck that was flowing out of the Dumpster. Glenn was holding two of them at bay, but didn't manage to catch the leader in his trap.

The leader was brandishing a switchblade, and took a swipe at me. I managed to duck out the way. Glenn ran headfirst at the guy, head lowered, and still playing his flute. He headbutted the thug away from Allison and me.

We managed to get out of the alleyway, but as I turned around I saw the head thug stab Glenn right in the chest. My vision went red, and I grabbed my ball peen hammer I kept at my belt.

I'm gonna be perfectly honest with Y'all. I don't remember much after that. This is all that I pieced together from Allison's accounts and what I remember. Apparently my eyes changed from their normal dark blue to a vibrant shade of purple. The sludge pouring out of the dumpster stopped due to the lack of flute playing coming from Glenn. I threw my hammer, and it struck the main thug in the forehead. He crumpled. I screamed as vines erupted from the same dumpster, and grabbed the other two thugs and pulled them into the depths of the garbage bin. It then locked in place.

Once the threat was dealt with, I ran over to Glenn. He was bleeding really bad. I looked through my backpack to get some first aid supplies, but Glenn stopped me. He whispered his final words in my ear, and closed his eyes. He turned into a sprig of mistletoe.

I quickly ran over to a flower shop and stole one of their display plants. (What can I say, I was desperate). I attached Glenn to the shrub in the pot, and decided to try and see if there was a safer place we could stay for the night.

I ended up finding a cheap motel that we could get for the night for less than a hundred bucks. I tucked Allison in. She hadn't talked much since Glenn departed from us. I gave her a kiss on the forehead like I always did, and assured her that everything was going to be alright.

That night I had a nightmare about wispy spirits with golden eyes arguing with each other. Two were inside a dumpster hissing and trying to get out, while one was on the outside of the dumpster just watching them struggle.

"Move it!" one hissed

"The boy has cursed the dumpster," The one on the outside stated, "It is meant to madden the captured by making it so that only one disinterested can open the container."

"He is growing in power." The other spirit in the dumpster spat.

"Perhaps, but he has no control. We can use this against him. I shall wait until he nears the end of his little journey, then I shall capture him."

"What about us?" the dumpster appeared to shout.

"You are nothing but tools to me. You shall wait until some lowly dumpster diver opens your cage." The spirit outside of the dumpster dispersed, and my dream went black.

The next morning I took Allison with me to the library. I needed to get some research done. I grabbed my backpack and my new potted plant. After I was ready to go, I realised that there was a shower in the room we stayed in. How could I not have noticed. Allison was still eating breakfast, so I decided to take a quick shower. It was nice to have hot water running down my back for once. I got out as Allison was finishing up, so I guess I made perfect time.

As we checked out of the motel, I asked where we could find a library. The woman at the desk gave me a map, and showed me where to go. We ventured out into the wilds of Lincoln Nebraska.

I learned pretty quickly that computers attracted monsters. I dunno how it works, maybe they have some sort of radar sense for that kinda stuff. However, I needed to figure out what Glenn meant by Blofis or Goode School. It didn't matter anyways, I was planning on skipping town as soon as I got the Information.

After about an hour of searching keywords on the Internet, I finally found an article about a Paul Blofis doing an interview in regards to a blown up music room at Goode Highschool in New York. I wrote down the address of the school on a napkin, and promptly booked it out of there with Allison.

Over the next week we only had one incident with monsters. I had to fight back a griffon while trying not to look like a crazy person fighting a flock of pigeons. I got a serious amount of scars on my back thanks to that oversized chicken. It was a bit of a stressful trip, but Allison and I finally made it to New York City.

As we walked through the city trying to get our bearings, I pointed out any landmarks I knew to Allison. As we were walking along, I noticed something was off about what was clearly the Empire States Building. I couldn't place my finger on it. I eventually hailed a cab, and asked them to take us to Goode Highschool.

After a slight argument over a broken cabby meter, I slammed the door of our carriage as the driver sped away. I told Allison to stay close to me, highschoolers can be some of the scariest monsters around. We went in the front doors of the building.

The experience was kinda surreal at first. The outside of the building looked like a brick, but the inside was sparkly clean, with a granite front desk where a bored looking lady with a very tight bun was sitting doing a crossword puzzle.

I ask in as polite of a tone I can muster, "Does a Mister Blofis work here? I would like to speak with him."

She responds without looking up from her puzzle, "He does, but he's in class right now, so if you want to talk to him, I can send him a message and you can wait right here." She motions to some seats in the corner.

She gets up from her chair, and types something into her computer. "His class gets finished in fifteen minute, then he will come out here to talk with you two troubled youths."

I stammered for a moment, "we aren't troubled youth, our friend just told us to find him."

"Sure sweetheart," she ushers back.

We wait for about fifteen minutes, when the bell rings. Allison jumped a bit, she doesn't like loud noises. In about two minutes a man who looks like he was ripped straight out of the Breakfast Club comes around the hall. He looks at me, then Allison, then he nods.

"Doreen, can you have Ms. Friedman sub for my last class. We were just watching a movie this class anyways. I need to take my nephew and niece home." He winks at me.

Doreen sighs, and walks to the staff room grumbling to herself.

"You kids look like you've been through Hades. Don't worry anymore, I know some people who can help you two out. It's at a camp on Long Island, but I'll have my stepson take you there tomorrow. You two look like you need a good place to sleep tonight." Said Mr. Blofis, with a cheerful gleam in his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2: Car Troubles

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or any associated properties/characters.**

Chapter Two: Car Trouble

I looked at this guy, Paul, for a moment. Why would he lie like that for kids he didn't even know? Who was his step-son? What was up with this camp everyone was talking about?

I must have looked suspicious or something, because as we got into the parking garage Paul said, "Don't worry. I know this is a scary time, but it'll all make sense when you meet Percy. He and his girlfriend… I mean fiance are like you. They will be able to explain some things."

I was slightly taken aback by the Idea that people like me, demigods or whatever, could live long enough to get engaged. It made me think that maybe there was hope for me after all. Maybe I could go to school for once, and have friends that lasted more than a few weeks.

Allison spoke up, "Mr. Blowfish, are you taking us to this camp thingie?"

Paul smiled, "My stepson will take you there tomorrow, he was coming over for dinner tonight anyways, seeing as it's the last day of my term."

I looked forward and saw what seemed to be Paul's car. It was rather unextraordinary, other than the horse prints dented in the hood of the car. Paul smiled as he unlocked the car. He let me ride shotgun, and Allison sat in the back.

"So, where are you two from?" Paul asked.

"I'm from North Dakota." Allison exclaimed. That girl has always been excitable.

"Seattle." I said, trying to move on from the subject.

"Dang, Seattle isn't close, I'm surprised your satyr didn't take you to New Rome." Paul said, "Where is your goat like companion anyways?"

Allison, who was humming to herself, stopped. I motioned to the mistletoe I had been carrying with me. Paul seemed to get the memo, because he didn't press it any further.

"Do either of you like music?" Paul asked, in a seeming attempt to lighten the mood.

"I do!" exclaimed Allison.

"Fantastic, what kind of music do you like?" Paul said and then realized, "Oh how silly of me. I just realized I don't know either of your names. Let's make some introductions. I'm Paul Blofis, I am an English teacher at Goode Highschool."

"I'm Allison, and I like music, and animals, and…" Said Allison, as I cut her off.

"Very excitable. I'm Jaime, we've been traveling together for almost two months now."

Paul looked at me and smiled, "You know Jaime, you look like you should be in Highschool. I might be able to talk the school into letting you in with some financial aid. What are you Fifteen, Sixteen?"

"I'm Sixteen, sir." I respond, while taking in what he said.

"Oh please, you don't need to call me sir if you're not my student." Paul said with a smile, "Of course this is going to be a very stressful time for you, so I don't expect you to make a decision now."

I was starting to like this guy. Paul turned on the radio, as some pop song came on that I didn't recognize. Allison was singing along with it, as if she knew the words by heart. I wondered how she knew the song, the only music we had access to was on the Ipod Classic I owned, and I hadn't updated it in over a year.

"That's not right," mumbled Allison.

"What's that Ally?" I asked only half paying attention.

"The words are wrong." She responded.

That's when stuff started going wrong. First the internal lights in the car started flashing, and the radio went haywire. Paul was shouting curses in surprise, and he tried turning the radio off. I heard a familiar raspy voice call out.

It said, "Godlings, It appears as though I have cornered you once again. This time I shall not fail to destroy you."

"You killed my friend." I growled

"Maybe so, but that was an unfortunate casualty of war." It hissed back.

The wheel of the car jerked to the side and spun us out of control. I realized the thing was in the car, controlling it. I didn't know what to do, so I smashed the radio with my hammer. The whole car started to smell like sulphur, and a hissing sound came out of the radio. This would have been great, but there was the fact that we were still spinning out of control right into an intersection.

I grabbed my potted plant, and yelled something in what I think may have been Greek. Out of the soil, sprung vines that covered Paul and Allison. Paul recoiled in surprise, but pretty quickly all of his body was covered. The vines then crept over me, but not fully as we got hit by another car.

I kinda collapsed from exhaustion at this point. Maybe it was me using whatever power I had, or maybe it was the blunt force trauma from being T-Boned by another car. It doesn't matter, because in the end I didn't remember much after that.

Allison later told me that "nice ambulance people" came and pulled us out of the car. Apparently they had to cut the door off to get us out. Allison and Paul made it out with only a few bruises, which amazed everyone including myself. I on the other hand managed to crack a few ribs, because I was on the side that got hit.

They checked me to see if I had a concussion. They were fully expecting me to, because I went unconscious, but my head was completely fine. I managed to get discharged after about three hours. In that time, Paul's Wife had made her way over. She looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

She asked Paul who we were, and he introduced us. She immediately hit it off with Allison. They talked a lot about stories, and books. Apparently Mrs. Blofis was a writer. That's when it hit me. Glenn had mentioned her before. He was making his way through her most recent novel when he was with us. I still had her book in my bag.

Eventually, I got discharged, and was prescribed some pain killers and given a brace for my ribs. The four of us caught a taxi, which worked fine. Allison seemed to get nervous as she got in. I could tell the whole incident with the spirits has made her more careful. With the combined effort of Sally and me, we managed to convince Allison to get in the car.

I have to admit, I wasn't too keen on the Idea of getting in a car at the moment, but I was exhausted and hungry. I started dozing off when Sally asked me about the plant I was holding. That startled me. I didn't even think about Glenn's pot, and how it would have been smashed in my arms with the initial impact. But there it was, completely intact.

"This was my friend." I whisper, so the cabby doesn't hear.

Sally looks at me with a sad understanding, and says, "I'm sure he would be proud of you for making it to us, and keeping little Allison safe."

Allison had fallen asleep by this point, and was leaning against me. Paul was up front and looked like he was paging somebody. That was weird, I thought only doctors still used those. I ran my hand through Allison's hair, and whispered to myself that everything was going to be fine. We'd almost made it.

We soon pulled up to an apartment complex, and I woke up Allison who was humming to herself in her sleep.

"We're here" I whispered, and I grabbed my backpack preparing for whatever lied ahead.


	3. Chapter 3: A Package From a Drunk God

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or any associated properties/characters.**

Chapter Three: A Package From a Drunk God

I looked up at the apartment complex in front of me. It is a tall building, almost twenty stories in total. I look to see if I notice anything out of place. I wonder if the gargoyles on the top of the building will come to life and try to eat me. That's happened more times than I'd like to admit.

The only thing I noticed about the building was a fluorescent looking plant growing on the sixteenth or seventeenth floor. I go to put on my backpack, but gasp out in pain. I forgot that I broke four ribs.

"Woah there champ," calls out Paul, "I've got your bag." I begrudgingly hand over my bag to Paul. Allison and I are ushered inside the building. Where we stop in front of the elevator

Paul looks at Allison with an impish grin and says, "I bet we're faster than the elevator. Do you want to race Sally and Jaime up? We can take the stairs while they take the elevator."

Allison looks at me, expectantly. "Alright, you can go, but be careful not to trip."

Paul opens the door to the stairs and the two of them race up. There is silence for a moment, and then the door shuts behind them. Sally and I both bust our guts laughing as we hear them running up the echoing steps. I wince in pain as I take in too sharp of a breath.

"So…" Sally asks, "How do you know Allison? You two don't look like you two are related, but you treat her as a sister."

"Ah, well you see…" I stammered on my words. "Allison and I, we were both runaways for… various reasons. She was being taken to camp by a friend of ours, but…"

I didn't know what to say. I still hadn't fully come to terms with Glenn's death. He sacrificed himself for us, and now I have his remains in a potted plant. I wasn't ignoring it, I was just pushing it to the side. Focusing on the task at hand. I didn't realize how hard it was to talk about it.

"I understand, you two might as well be siblings at this point." Sally said.

I don't think her understanding only pertained to my relationship with Allison. The doors to the elevator then opened up. We stepped inside, and stood there listening to the elevator music. Sally pressed the button to the seventeenth floor. We didn't talk for the ride up. I think she got the memo that I didn't want to say anything right now.

As the doors to the elevators opened up, I thought I heard screaming. I immediately grab for my hammer, which is no longer at my belt. On the other side of my belt was a monkey wrench. I ran out of the elevator with my weapon drawn, but what I saw surprised me. I saw a man in his early twenties with skin about as tan as mine playing with a little girl and Allison.

He looked up at me with these piercing sea green eyes and said, "Woah man, we're chill I just heard Paul sprinting up the stairs, and found this kid already here."

Paul burst through the door from the stairway. "Man for a kid who's just been in a car accident, Allison can sure run." Paul took a deep breath. "Ah I see you have met my step-son, Percy, and my Daughter, Estelle."

I put away my monkey wrench and studied Percy. He looked like he had been in his fair share of fights. He had some scars on his face, most pretty thin though. He had his hands up, like I was arresting him. He had a wide smile on his face, and he looked like he could barely contain his laughter.

"So, I take it you're Jaime and this is Allison," Percy says as he extends his hand to shake mine; I oblige. "You look like you need something to eat. I ordered chinese food, I hope that's cool with you."

My stomach quaked at the mention of chinese food, or maybe it was my organs being pushed around by the compression wrap I was wearing.

"Chinese sounds great," I respond.

"Great, would you like a tour of the apartment while we wait for it to arrive?" Percy said in a kind of way that insinuates that he wanted to talk to me.

I agree, and he leads me around the apartment. I met his Fiance, Annabeth, she was working on something on a laptop that I didn't recognize the brand of. She was finishing something up for a job she was working on, but said she would take a break when dinner came. Percy finally led me to his room, where he sat me down and talked to me.

He started off by offering me what looked like a lemon bar. I tried to decline, but he said it would help my ribs. I bit into it, and it tasted nothing like I would expect. It tasted like a slice of coconut cake from my favorite bakery back home. My ribs immediately felt better, and I took off the compression wraps binding them in place to heal.

"So, do you know who your godly parent is?" Percy asked, getting straight to the point.

"No, but I've been wondering if it was a god of nature or something like that." I respond.

"Why's that?" He asked

I tell him about what happened back in Lincoln with the vines reaching out of the dumpster, and with what happened were the vines protected everyone in the car. He looked puzzled after I told him everything. He grabbed a book from his shelf. It was written in ancient greek.

"The only thing that really jumps to mind is Demeter, goddess of the hearth, but vines growing out of trash cans isn't exactly her MO" He says while looking down at his book, "Pan might have worked, but… well… let's just say that isn't the case."

Percy started absentmindedly playing with a pen in his hand. He seemed as if his mind was no longer on the topic at hand. I felt a weird tug in my gut. It felt like that feeling you get when you are at the top of a roller coaster and you're about to drop. I looked into my hands and saw a package.

"Woah," Percy said as he dropped his pen. "Looks like someone wanted something to get to you fast. That stamp says it was hand delivered by Hermes himself."

I look at the package, there is a unique looking stamp on it in the shape of a staff with two snakes twirled around it. I tap the stamp with my finger and one of the snakes nips at my finger. I call out in surprise.

"That one must be George," Percy says, amused, "He's a bit feisty."

The package is brown with an emerald green ribbon tied around it for decoration. I undo the ribbon, and open the package. Inside is something bundled in cloth and a letter. I go to unbundle the cloth, but Percy stops me.

"Read the letter first. Last time the gods mailed me something, it was Medusa's head." He said with a very serious tone.

"Wait, Medusa? Like, the Medusa? The one that Perseus killed?" I responded in absolute shock.

Percy gave a small nod, like he didn't want to talk about it anymore, so I dropped it. I opened the letter, and read it. Percy looked expectantly, so I read it aloud.

"_Dear Jimmy, I have just been informed you exist. This has created quite a headache for me, and I have half the mind to smite you for it. Nevertheless, I have been informed by our resident oracle that you would need this. -Mr. D. _

_P.S. it is neither cursed, nor will it turn you to stone despite what Mr. Jason has most likely said." _

"Did it get sent to the wrong person? I don't know any Jimmys or Mr. Jasons," I ask without a clue what was going on.

"No, it's just a thing senile gods do for fun," remarks Percy, "Dionysus thinks it's funny to mess up the names of campers."

I didn't quite get that, but I kinda just accepted it. I slowly unwrapped the gray silk that was covering whatever else was inside the box. I wince as I finally unwrap it fully. It was a pair of cast iron tongs. They didn't seem special, no engravings or gold leafing on them, so it didn't make much sense.

Percy froze as he looked at it. His eyes grew wide. I swear, I could've seen fire in his eyes. When I say that, I don't mean he looked passionate or some crap like that. It was almost like I could see his pain. I reached out to grab his hand, but I saw things as soon as I did.

It was like reading a poorly made flip book. The pictures I saw were of Percy and his fiance, Annabeth. The first thing I saw was the two of them being pulled under the water of a river by thousands of grasping hands. It then jumped to them drinking fire out of a lava flow. Hundreds of images of the both of them suffering in ways that I didn't want to imagine flooded my mind. It ended with Percy and Annabeth looking bedraggled and beaten in an elevator with their hands pressed against the door, as if they just got separated from something, or someone.

One final picture came into my mind, but it looked like a high definition image. It was the night sky, and I saw a constellation that I have never noticed before. Then three simple words rang inside my head.

"Bob says hi."

I awoke on the floor next to Percy, he was sobbing into Annabeth's arms. She was crying too. Sally was waiting in the doorway with Allison. I realized I was crying as well. Teardrops were just running down my face, I was overwhelmed. I didn't understand what I just saw, but I had the feeling that I saw some of Percy's worst moments. Yet, even after seeing all of that, I don't think I saw even one fifth of the tragedy in this young man's life. Sadly, I was right.

I got up with the tongs in my hands. I wipe my eyes and survey my situation. Percy looks emotionally destroyed, and Annabeth looks like she is trying to console him without breaking down herself.

"Make sure Ally gets food, she'll eat anything you put in front of her. If I find out she isn't getting what she needs, you'll be sorry." I said with defeat.

I sprint out the front door and run down the stairs to get outside, with my eyes stinging with regret.


	4. Chapter 4: Tricked by the Tongs

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or any associated properties/characters.**

Chapter Four: Tricked by the Tongs of Destiny

I ran out into the streets, with tears streaming down my face. I didn't know where I was, and that was fine with me. I just wanted to find a place to crawl into and hide. "I always make problems worse for myself. I always hurt the people who I'm close to. First it was my mom, then it was Glenn, this time it's Percy." Those were the words running through my head. I couldn't let myself hurt Allison, she was too important to me.

I ran down street after street. I didn't care where I went. I was running for hours when I stumbled upon a small park. It almost called out to me. My instincts were telling me that something was off about it. I looked around at the streets surrounding me, but they were empty. There were no cars, no pedestrians, not even pigeons were anywhere to be seen.

I immediately felt nervous. Some kind of sorcery was going on here, and I didn't like it. I've only had one encounter with a sorceress, and… let's say it wasn't particularly pleasant. I reached for my wrench and hammer, but they were both gone. All I had was my backpack, with some loose medical supplies and food, a plant, and a pair of tongs. None of those Items were all that appealing as weapons, but the tongs seemed like my best bet.

I put Glenn in my bag, and pulled out the tongs like they were a sword. I slowly crept through the gates to the park. It didn't look like I was in New York anymore. It looked familiar though. It was lighter out here than it was a moment ago. I checked my watch. It read 1:27. It simply didn't seem that late out.

I noticed a light source up ahead. It seemed to be cast by a fire of some sort. I walked towards it. Maybe whoever was there could help me figure out what was going on. I went forward, whilst surveying my area. Everything seemed so familiar. I saw a baseball diamond, and some concrete structures. That's when it hit me. I was home again.

This was the park I spent so much time playing in, as a little kid. I'd never thought I'd be back here again. I heard a loud popping sound, and jumped. The light got much brighter for a second. I then heard a voice.

"Ah, some nice meat, finally." It called out.

I immediately thought that I was dealing with a Cannibal. I dealt with a few in Minnesota, before I met Allison. I didn't know what to do. Last time I dealt with them using a well placed firework, but I just had some stupid barbeque tools, from a god who made it clear he didn't want me to exist. The tongs then jerked towards the fire, as if it were a magnet. They then started pulling me towards the fire. I tried to let go, but I couldn't. All I could think was how I had been tricked into thinking these were safe.

I soon saw a figure whose features were obscured by the fire, but had normal seeming proportions. Maybe it wasn't one of those giants. Maybe I could fight him off with whatever powers I had. I drew closer, and then the pulling slowed. Maybe it didn't want to hurl me into the fire. I then realized I could let go of the tongs, so I promptly threw it to the ground.

"Now, that's no way to treat a gift from a god!" said the unidentified man, whilst walking up to grab the tongs, "These are going to be very important for you tonight."

The man stepped forward, and I got my first good look at him. He didn't look particularly impressive. He was just a white, middle aged guy, wearing a baseball cap with wings on the side. He looked like a dad, not that I would know what that would look like. He had a thin smile on his face, but had a sadness in his eyes that was unmistakable.

"I believe introductions are in order. My name is Hermes, God of Messengers and Traveling, guide to the lost and broken. You, my good sir, seem to be a bit lost, and I don't just mean that you don't know where you are," said the god.

He motioned to a bench that seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Next to it was a small table with food stacked on it. I was hesitant to grab anything, but figured if he were a god, he could just vaporize me on the spot anyways, so I dug in. And to be fair, I was really hungry. Hermes watched me inhale the food.

Once I was done, I thanked the god for the food. He just laughed, and looked at me as if he knew something I didn't. I looked at him confused; this guy was starting to freak me out a bit. He sighed and told me a story

He spoke with a sad voice, "My son had a good heart. He just trusted in the wrong people. He started a war. He let people die, all because he felt betrayed by me. After his sacrifice I thought all the troubles with Kronos would be over, we all did. We were wrong. The gods have ignored them, the children left behind. I know that you were told about the war by your friend, so I won't bore you with the details. There were many demigods who fled after the battle of New York. Many made their way back to camp to seek redemption in the eyes of their peers, but not all. There were six who disappeared off the face of the earth. Many think they have perished, but I disagree. I think that they found each other. I only know where one of them is at the moment, he is not doing a great job at the moment to stay hidden. Your father and I have been trying to deal with this troubling demigod, but with no such luck. He is currently in control of your father's cult."

I cut him off, "You know who my father is, and he has a cult?"

"Yes, I know who your father is, Jaime, and if you're good, I'll let you know after your trial tonight," Retorts Hermes, "Anyways, as I was saying. I believe it will be you who will deal with our problem. You are, after all, of an older ilk than all the rest of the demigods."

There was a silence for a moment. I needed to process everything that was just thrown at me. I was the child of an old god, I needed to fight some guy in charge of a cult, and I had to do a trial that night. It seemed like tonight was going to be pretty odd after all.

"Before we move on, you need to see something," said Hermes as he waved his hand over the bonfire that was in front of us.

In the fire, I saw what looked like a distorted view of New York City. The picture zoomed in, and weaved through the buildings like a piece of thread. I saw Paul in the streets of New York looking around and talking to people. It was almost two in New york, what was he doing out. I then saw Percy and Annabeth doing the same, just a dozen blocks away. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they looked worried. The image then shifted to in front of the apartment building where Paul and Sally lived. The image then shifted to Sally comforting a crying Allison.

"You're her world you know," Hermes said "If you don't return, she'll be heartbroken."

"But she's safer without me around." I say back.

"Kid, she's a demigod, she'll never be truly safe." He retorts, "It's better to have comfort in your danger than pain in your safety. That's what I always say. Besides, what happened to Percy wasn't your fault. It was the tongs."

"What?" I ask.

"Percy, has quite literally been to hell and back, and those tongs have quite literally reached into the depths of Tartarus. So, seeing an Item that is almost as attuned to that abyss as he is, was a little bit too much to take."

"Oh, because I saw his memories, I thought I caused it."

Hermes looked deep into the fire, "That would be a gift from your father. Spending that much time in a place like that is enough to drive most people mad. Fortunately for Percy, he had Annabeth to help share his load. Nevertheless, it still took a toll on his mind. He is still afflicted by what some people would call acute madness. That's what you saw."

"How can I do that," I asked

"All in due time my friend, first you have a trial by fire," He says as he hands me the tongs.

He then explained to me that he was currently calling in a favor with Hades to summon the flames of the field of punishment into the bonfire. The tongs were magic, and would protect my hand, but I would need to have the willpower to hold on to them whilst I grabbed something from within the flames.

"You need to find something to hold on to. Find the light in your life, and cling to it, lest you get swallowed by the dark." Hermes explained.

"This is crazy," I said, "Why do I need to do this?"

"The strongest blades are forged in fire. For you, the fire is remembering the light." He yelled over the flames of Hades.

"You don't need to be so cryptic and poetic." I retort

"Sorry, I've been hanging out with Apollo."

I start to think what's been good in my life. I haven't spoken to my mother in years, my best friend is dead, and my father, who I've never met, wants me to go on some dangerous quest. Why wouldn't my life be great. Then I realized the light in my life. It's Allison. She'd been the little sister I never had. My primary objective was to keep her safe, but I didn't realize that she had been keeping me sane. I plunged my hand into the fire

At first I didn't feel anything, then I realized the pain wasn't supposed to come from the flames. I heard whispers, reminding me of my failures, mocking me, telling me that I will be the death of everyone I care about. I tried to ignore what they were saying, as I fished through the ashes. I then see images in my head of my mistakes. I saw my mother throwing pots and pans at me. I saw my encounter with a sphinx, where it slashed my back up, and I saw Glenn turning into a sprig of mistletoe. I tried pushing those thoughts aside, but it wasn't working. I was losing my grip, and shadows were creeping into my vision.

I then decided to heed Hermes' advice. Instead of trying to ignore the images, I tried to move past them. I soon saw Allison treating my wounds from the Sphinx. I saw myself tucking Allison in to bed, and kissing her on her forehead. I saw myself enjoying myself, while chatting with Paul and Sally. I had built all of these relationships, and I sure wasn't going to allow myself to end them now. The tongs clasped around something in the ashes. I pulled it out.

"Woah there kid," said Hermes as I fell backwards, away from the fire, "You did the hard part. No need to get injured now."

I blinked hard a few times. The flames rescinded, and soon there was just a pile of soot. I looked at the were two pieces of wood in their grasp. They were long, slender, and had a bronze trim. There was a word engraved in the side of each of the sticks. Σκλήθρα, I didn't know what it meant, but it just looked greek to me.

"Ah good, two fine weapons, for a fine demigod," says Hermes.

I studied the two pieces of wood, and realized they were Drumsticks, like the kind someone would use in a rock band. They didn't seem much like weapons to me.

"Bang them together like you were counting a band in." Hermes said excitedly.

I did exactly that, and the drumsticks transformed. They went from being about a foot long, to being four. They had four bronze bands at the top, and had four silver studs on each band. It looked like the coolest thing ever in my eyes, but I tried to hide it.

"Seeing as Chiron's not here to do it I guess I should," Hermes said as he cleared his throat, "All hail, Jaime Harker, son of Dionysus Bacchae, harbinger of madness, and lord of wine."

I looked up and saw a glowing purple symbol of a cup with horns. I am astonished, I knew that my dad was a god, but it still hadn't really hit me until this moment. I was the son of the god of madness, I guess that makes sense, seeing as how I saw Percy's trauma, but the vines still didn't make sense to me.

"Don't worry kid, you'll figure it out." Assured Hermes, "But first you gotta get back to your people."

Then my vision went blurry for a second, and I appeared at the front door to the Blofis residence as Percy and Annabeth came out of the Elevator.


	5. Chapter 5: Odd Dreams

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or any associated properties/characters.**

Chapter Five: Odd Dreams, and Camp Things.

I was sitting on the couch while Annabeth was yelling at me. It was obvious she wasn't actually mad at me, just anxious about me running off like I did. She hadn't even mentioned what happened to Percy. I didn't even know her that well; why was she so worried? She started to calm down after Fifteen minutes of yelling.

"Thank Zeus that you're alright, but you need to be more careful next time. Instead of running into Hermes, you could have run into the Sphinx on 85th, or the Laistrygonian underneath the Brooklyn Bridge." She said while taking a deep breath. "We were all worried about you. You showed up on our doorstep, so you're our responsibility."

Percy squeezed her hand, and whispered something in her ear. She looked back at him with her piercing gray eyes, and nodded.

"You're lucky I'm tired, and my Fiance is nice." She said, "Or you'd be getting the full hour long lecture tonight."

"Trust me, that is not something you want," Percy interjected.

"You only say that, because you've gotten it Twelve dozen times, Seaweed Brain." She retorts.

"Alright you two," Paul interrupts, "It's time for you two to head home, Jaime needs as much sleep as he can get at this point."

Annabeth and Percy kept playfully jabbing at each other. It was like watching a verbal sparring match. Percy was obviously outmatched, but he was keeping pace due to his unhealthy use of sarcasm. Annabeth gave me the impression like she was such a good speaker, she could run for president at Thirty-five, and win.

"Oh, before we go!" Percy said, as if he just remembered something, "Congrats dude, on getting claimed. Mr. D and I don't always get along, but he's one of the good ones."

He and Annabeth left shortly after that. I was exhausted, and didn't stay up much longer. Paul told me I could have the couch, but I wanted to be in the room with Allison, so I crawled into bed next to her. I kissed her on the forehead, and drifted off to sleep.

I, of course, didn't have a restful night of sleep. I dreamed of weird stuff. It was all kinda incorporeal, as dreams tend to be. I saw a palace with a toppled throne, vines crawling up a skull half buried into the earth, and so, so much more. My dreams are always a bit odd, but that night was specifically cryptic.

The most vivid thing I saw in my sleep was what looked like an angel. He was silent, but I knew that he knew I was watching. He was beautiful, not handsome like the actors in the movies, but beautiful. He stepped through ruins, looking longingly at the toppled pillars and ruined mosaics. The angel was draped in a black toga, and looked sad. I wanted to help him, but I didn't know why.

"Madness does oft find itself drawn to death." The angel spoke with a softness,

I tried to speak, but couldn't. I just watched as the angel stepped over to a collapsed pillar, and lifted it with seemingly no effort. Underneath, was a set of Roman armor, that was twisted and caved in to the point of no return. Inside, was a ghostly figure, cowering in fear.

"Thank the gods, I'm safe. You two found me. I can't believe it. I'm gonna make it home." Said the ghost with exasperation.

"I am sorry, but returning you is not of our purview, brave soul, for I am not Mercury." Replied the angel in a hushed tone.

The spirit looked up in horror as he realized who the beautiful man was. He was about to speak, but the angel shushed him. The angel took the ghost's hand. There was silence. I followed as they walked through the ruined courtyard. It was overtaken by nature. There was an odd haunting tone throughout the ruined palace.

"Where are we going?" asked the ghost.

"You? You are going to where heroes go." Responded the angel.

"Elysium?" whispered the ghost.

"If you wish. Or, you may choose to be reborn. Shall you be reborn three times, you will be gifted an afterlife like no other." The Angel responded with warmth.

"What did my blood brother choose?" asked the ghost.

"Your brother chose to be reborn." Smiled the Angel.

"Then I will as well" Declared the, now simmering, ghost

"Very well, mighty Lathyros, son of greeks. I will watch you and your brother's stories with much anticipation." Echoed the angel's voice, as the ghost dissolved into a golden mist.

"Don't disappoint me young one." He then said to me, as I awoke with a gasp.

There are many comforting things in this world, but not many can top blue pancakes cooked by Sally Jackson after an odd night of dreams. She was mostly tending to her daughter Estelle, who was about two years old at the time. Estelle was refusing to eat her breakfast.

"Paul! A little help over here please." Shouted Mrs. Jackson.

"I'm on it!" Said Paul, as he flipped a pancake shaped like a misshapen face onto Estelle's plate.

They both tried to get Estelle to eat the pancake, with little luck. Paul grabbed his pager, and pressed some buttons on it. I heard a beeping from the other side of the front door, as Percy poked his head in.

"Stella," He called, "If you don't eat your breakfast, you won't be able to protect your big brother from monsters."

Estelle stopped, and practically inhaled the pancakes. She then started punching the air with her little two year old fists. The

Percy and Annabeth both came in, carrying some drinks from a local shop. Paul got a black coffee, which seemed odd to me, Sally got a latte, Annabeth, had some kind of tea, and Percy had some form of blue smoothy.

"Here you go," Said Annabeth, "We didn't know what you would want, but you really can't go wrong with chocolate."

She handed me a delicious hot cocoa that hit the spot in the morning. Allison smiled like she was having the best morning ever. I nudged her, and she thanked everyone. She was sipping her hot cocoa so happily. I wish it could have stayed like that forever.

"Alright guys. We better get moving, so you can meet everyone today." Said Percy. "After all, you could be living there for quite a while."

"Could?" Replied Allison.

"If you go on a quest, you might leave for a bit," Responded Anabeth, "But you won't have to worry about it. They don't let anyone under the age of twelve go on quests."

With that, we said goodbye to Sally, Paul, and Estelle. We made our way back down the elevator, and walked to an older looking car that looked like it had been through a lot. Annabeth mentioned how it was her dad's old car, and she's using it now. Allison and I got in the back, while Annabeth drove us to Long Island.

I was surprised by how easy the drive was. We just drove with no real interruptions. I noticed that tucked under the front seat was a wooden contraption. I reached down to grab it, only to realize that it was an unloaded crossbow. There were other odd things I noticed.

Percy seemed to have a nervous tick of playing with his pen. It was weird. I also noticed how Annabeth would glance intently at every bird that flew overhead of the car. They seemed to be pretty consistently on edge.

After about two hours of driving through the city and alongside some beaches, we arrived at a place with wild strawberries growing everywhere, and the roads turned to dirt. There was a large hill with a single pine tree at the top, accompanied by a marble statue.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, your new home," Smiled Percy as we came to a stop, and looked out at this weird new world that awaited us.


End file.
